Museum Piece
by pinetree13
Summary: "You see, dear, I could get us out of here in, oh, a matter of seconds. Then I would go back to teaching and you would go back to doing whatever it is you were doing. But the thing is, this museum is closing in a matter of minutes, and there's no way I have enough time for a lecture, so I might as well stay with you for a bit." [one shot]


**This story takes place after TATM for both the Doctor and River, in one of the bouts where the Doctor is traveling without Clara. (I would have posted this in my one shot series, but I couldn't think of a good song to fit it, so I'm posting it separately.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.**

"Our next stop will be the mummies," said Professor River Song as she led a group of university students through one of her favorite museums. "They're on the other side of the building, so do try to keep up." Behind her, several people were attempting to do just that, while simultaneously scribbling furiously in their notebooks, still trying to keep pace with everything she'd said at their last stop: dinosaurs.

The clicking of her heels echoed throughout the halls of the large museum, causing many of the tourists in the classic art section to turn and look at her as though she herself belonged among the works. She just smiled as they did so, continuing to look straight ahead and not slowing for anyone.

One courageous student had the guts to speak up. "Excuse me, Professor Song? Could you repeat that last part you said?"

"Perhaps later," she sighed. "We're running on a tight schedule right now. The museum will be closing soon and we haven't even gotten to mummies yet!"

The boy who had spoken up simply nodded and looked off of one of his colleagues' notes.

By this point, they had finally made it to the mummy exhibit. However, before River had the chance to enter, she was distracted by a sign a few feet away. It appeared to tell of the museum's current main attraction. It read, "This week only: witness the strange man who fell from the sky!"

_Uh oh, _River thought. _This can't be good._ Now, though, her students were all gathered around her, waiting for her to begin the lecture. "Why don't you go explore the exhibit and see what you can find for yourself?" At this, they all dispersed, and she headed in the direction that the sign pointed.

When she found the main exhibition hall, though, she discovered that there was an added fee to enter, and a tough-looking security guard stationed outside the door indicated that they took this policy seriously. She sighed. If she had to do things the hard way, then so be it.

She passed down a deserted side hallway, and, after ascertaining that she was alone, took out her vortex manipulator from a bag around her waist. Slipping it on, she punched in coordinates to land herself right inside the door. With the press of a button, she was in. Luckily, no one inside seemed to have seen her, though, as they were all huddled around a glass box in the middle of the room. Upon first glance, it looked like an ordinary living room confined inside a glass box—a cage made for humans (or the human-like).

But what she saw next made her break out into a smile. Inside this box labeled, "The Man Who Fell from the Sky," was exactly who she had expected to see: the Doctor. He kept gesturing and mouthing words, trying to communicate, to explain that there had been some misunderstanding, but the glass seemed to be very thick. No one understood him.

River slowly walked to the front of the crowd that stood around the box, smiling widely as she did so. Once the Doctor saw her, his eyes flooded with relief and surprise. She saw him mouth, "River!" But instead of gesturing wildly like he had been before, he simply pointed to the vortex manipulator that was still around her wrist and mouthed, "Help me."

It took her only a moment to appear inside the box, much to the surprise of the crowd of onlookers. "Hello, sweetie," River laughed.

"River! River, oh you don't know how happy I am to see you! I keep trying to tell these people who I am, but they simply refuse to understand. First I crash-land and then I'm taken prisoner!" The crowd outside was growing as people realized that new developments were occurring.

"You're just lucky I decided to take my class out for a trip today," she smirked. "Or else you'd be here all week, like the sign says."

He waved his arms to brush this off. "Yes, yes, now how about getting us out of here?"

But instead of typing in coordinates, River simply chuckled mischievously. The Doctor knew from experience that that was never good. He gulped as she began to circle him slowly, like a vulture around its prey. "You see, dear, I could get us out of here in, oh, a matter of seconds. Then I would go back to teaching and you would go back to doing whatever it is you were doing. But the thing is, this museum is closing in a matter of minutes, and there's no way I have enough time for a lecture, so I might as well stay with you for a bit."

His eyes narrowed as he watched her, wondering what exactly she was planning. "And what about your students?"

At this, she pulled out her communicator and typed in a message before pressing the "send" button. "There," she said, "now all of my students have been alerted that I've been called away on business and that they may return to the university."

The Doctor checked his watch. "Fine, but there is still ten minutes until the museum closes."

River shot him another smile that made him nervous. "Yes and there are still people here, so let's give them their money's worth."

Now she grabbed him by the lapels and pushed him up against the front wall, kissing him passionately as she did so.

"River!" the Doctor exclaimed once they broke apart, breathless.

"What? We're doing them a favor. We're teaching them not to pin up people like animals. A few more instances of this and they'll learn their lesson."

The Doctor sputtered, unsure of how to respond. She did have a point. And as he looked around at the faces of all those who were still gathered around, he could see that her behavior had had the desired effect. "If you insist," he sighed, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around so that it was she who was now backed against the wall. He let his hands entangle in her hair as he kissed her, time seeming to fly by them. They were so lost in each other, in fact, that they didn't notice all the people leaving. They didn't even hear the announcement that the museum was now closed. They only broke apart when the lights shut off around them.

"River?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Yes, my love?"

"As much as I love being alone in the dark with you, I'd very much like to get out of here now."

River chuckled. "Of course." For a moment, the only sounds audible were those little beeps that the buttons on the vortex manipulator made as they were pressed. Finally, she said, "Grab on," and once he did, she hit the final button. The next thing they knew, they were standing inside the TARDIS, which was still smoking slightly in some places, due to the nature of the Doctor's earlier landing.

The Doctor sighed in relief as he made his way to the console and wrapped his arms around it. "Oh, you don't know how good it is to be back!"

River smiled as she watched him, and she decided it might be better to sneak out while he was occupied. After all, he always hated saying goodbye. However, right before she could reach for the handle, the Doctor spotted her. "Oi! Where do you think you're going?"

She turned towards him, putting on a fake smile. "I really can't stay. Things are different now. I'm out of Stormcage, and I have a job. I can't just run away on a moment's notice with The Man Who Fell from the Sky," she laughed.

The Doctor walked toward her now, until he stood right in front of her. Having him this close to her made River's smile falter, as if he was somehow silently calling her bluff. "And who says you can't?" he asked quietly. "I could have you back in five minutes. No one would even know you were gone."

She laughed again, still holding on to her smile. "I suppose you said that to Amy too." She looked down now, because she knew that if she looked him in the eye, she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears that already threatened to fall. It was quite possible that she had never wanted anything more than to go away with him at this very moment and forget all her responsibilities for a while. Resisting was harder than she could have thought. But she had to. Taking this job meant making sacrifices, like only adventuring while on break. She couldn't just let the Doctor whisk her away whenever he decided to show up in her life.

But now the Doctor was breaking down all her defenses. With one hand, he held hers, and with the other, he carefully lifted her chin so that she could look him in the eye once more. Her eyes were glistening with tears that never fell, that she wouldn't let fall. "Do you trust me?" After a slight pause, she nodded, causing him to break out into that huge, goofy smile that she loved so much. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Though she still hesitated for a long moment, the Doctor could see that he had ultimately won her over. "Five minutes?" she asked tentatively.

"Five minutes," he answered. "Cross my hearts."

She smiled and leant forward to kiss him once more, though this time it was sweet and slow. "Then Geronimo."

**Please review if you have a moment.**


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